I am Leopold Stotch
by Candice Wozniak Dionysus
Summary: A story that takes place in high school and centers around Leopold "Butters" Stotch. Warning, crossdressing, violence, homosexuality, and generally offensive material. Then again, this IS South Park.
1. Chapter 1

Soft blond hair fluttered in the wind as the skinny teenage boy stood atop the swing set in flat girls tennis shoes, tight jeans beneath a bubblegum skirt, and a Hello Kitty shirt under a light, almost teal hoodie. His hair was fluffed out, spiked with gel to the sides, and his bangs held out of his face by a rainbow-jeweled butterfly hair clip. Blue eyes looked tearfully to the moon as he kept his balance shakily, and his heart was sunken as low as he could imagine it would ever be able to sink. It still felt like it was moving lower with each passing second; he was utterly alone now, both his current situation atop the swings, and his social life.

If he felt like jumping, he showed the utmost of restraint in just standing. It took all he had in him not to fall on accident, and bust his own brains out on the icy snow below him. But when he felt low, this was one way for himself to bring his soul up. To stand up there, to feel the wind and the cold, and to know he mustn't be the only one who felt this pain, this self-pity he so wonderfully masked within himself.

The girls would never accept him, not after the slumber party incident. They just laughed now, saying he looked much better as a lady than he ever had as a boy. That was part of the reason he'd begun to dress as he was now; he agreed with them. He looked much better dressing metro sexual, or even cross dressing, than he ever had in his own normal attire. This was him; this was who he'd needed to be from the beginning. Only now the boys wouldn't accept him, either. Or if they wanted to, they couldn't because then they would lose social status too. And he understood this, and he didn't hold it against them. They never really were his friends to begin with; they just let him tag along out of pity sometimes. He knew that. But he was his own person now; he no longer needed their pity, and they no longer wished to give it to him. They were now far beyond that stage in life, and for once he was all too glad to not have to deal with them, to deal with _him_, and to just be who he was.

But _he_ still wouldn't leave him alone completely. _He_ got a hard on from pushing him around, from hurting him, and belittling him, and pissing all over his dignity with one hand still free to scratch his ass. That fat fuck Eric couldn't let go completely, oh no, not him. In some fucked up, sadistic way, picking on him was his only way to say he loved him. But he was done with that now. He wasn't going to allow him to do it to him anymore. And that's why he was up here, now, thinking. He was coming up with a way to be free of him forever. He wouldn't accept that cruel hand fate had dealt him when they were nine – he would be free of Eric Cartman's incessant bullying once and for all.

His eyes closed, and he let himself wobble in the light of the Hunters Moon, Halloween so close yet still so far away. He would completely ignore him, pretend nothing hurt him, ruin the fat boys hard on moment, and take away all the sadistic fun from picking on him. He would become insult-proof, and finally Eric would leave him alone, maybe move on to someone else. He didn't care anymore, just as long as he was free of him.

"Don't jump!" A familiar voice called.

Blue eyes fluttered open, balance was lost and regained, and he crouched. He turned his head over his shoulders and narrowed his eyes. Who was that, down there, asking him not to do something he'd had no intention of doing in the first place? A face came into focus, surrounded by curly auburn hair. Green eyes floated in a perfectly pale, lightly freckled face, but those details were a little hazy in the light of the full moon. A green hat was clenched in green-gloved fists, and he was biting his lip.

"I had no intention of j-jumping." He replied, soberly. "I was thinking about everything but that."

"Please come down?" The Jewish boy asked. "It makes me uncomfortable, seeing you swaying like a twig up there."

No reply, but he did what Kyle asked him to. He grasped the bar and allowed himself to swing down, landing his feet a little clumsily on the seat of the swing, and grabbed the chains as quick as he could. There was a nervous gasp from the auburn-haired boy, but he was in control for the most part, and stepped down to the frozen snow. Kyle stepped forward, and he flinched back, unsure of this whole situation.

"Wh-what… Do you want?" He asked, not saying his name out loud, not wanting to acknowledge any prior association with him simply because he was friends with his fat tormentor.

"I want to say something to you." Kyle replied, his voice secretly pleading. A tone he knew all to well, having used it with Eric so many times before, and gaining no quarter.

"S-so I had to c-come down here for that?" He asked. "I couldn't stay up there, where I was comfortable?"

"_Butters_." Kyle said, and blue eyes met green as they locked into each other's vision. "I want to tell you that _I accept you_."

He felt the weight of that comment like a ton of bricks had just fallen into his brain. Someone who seemed to be, for the most part, one of the "cool kids", accepted him. Bebe practically wet her pants every time he came around now, not to mention that slut Wendy seemed to want a piece for herself, he did good in classes, and he had a shit-ton of friends.

"Who are you, to ju-just come here and interrupt my thinking?" He asked, almost in a rage. "Who are you to just say "I accept you" like I need to be accepted?"  
"I…" Kyle looked stung, like his favorite pet had just bitten him.

"I don't need your acceptance." He continued. "I don't need people to look as me and go "oh, there's that kid that everyone just calls Butters for some reason! Well, we should tell him we accept him." No! That's not what I need!"

"Butt…"

"Don't even!" He yelled. "Don't you even dare call me that like you're my _friend_!"

"Leopold…" Kyle said, and he stopped, just stared at him like some kind of new animal he'd never seen before.

"You… Y-you… Know my real name…" He said. It wasn't a question; it was more reaffirming it to himself.

"I do." He replied. "I thought you liked being called Butters. You never corrected us before, so we just assumed it was all right. Even your parents call you Butters, man. How was I to know?"

He closed his blue eyes again, trying to rationalize this. How many other people were like this? Didn't know because he'd never stood up and said "look, that's not my name!" and took some initiative? He lifted one arm up to hold his opposite shoulder, one knee buckled and he was supported completely by his left leg. Now it was his turn to feel bitten by a creature he'd thought to be tame, and he wasn't taking it well. Were the others near by, and this was just a joke to hurt him one final, ultimate time? He looked all around him, still holding his shoulder, and then fell to his knees, staring down at the snow. What was happening to him? He'd never quite gotten this way before about anyone, and yet Kyle had almost reduced him to tears with little more than a paragraph's worth of sentences. He'd blown all the anger, all the rage, right out of him with just his gentle reasoning.

"You…" He said, his voice chocked slightly in his throat. "My friend?" He asked, sounding unsure and on the verge of tears.

The green-eyed Jew sprang forwards, and put an arm around him, tilting his face up with his other, to look into his eyes. His breath caught as he felt the others warm touch. "Is that what you need?" He asked.

Leopold Stotch looked into his auburn-haired schoolmates eyes, and blinked a tear out of one of his own. He whispered something inaudible, some nonsense that even he didn't quiet understand, unsure of every part of his current situation.

"Do you need a friend? Do you need someone who can be an anchor for you?" Kyle persisted, seeming quiet concerned. Had he always been this concerned with him, he wondered. Had he just never noticed Kyle's honest and genuine care? "Can I be that anchor?"

Leo was silent for what seemed like ages, though must have only been a few minutes. He didn't know what to say, or even if he _could_ speak if he tried. This boy was always on the receiving end of Eric's jokes and sadistic hate, too. Maybe it was natural he should be concerned, for him to care, knowing what its like to be the butt of Eric's cruel jokes, and sadistic pleasure. Maybe they should stick together, and united they could finally be free of the fat neo-nazi son-of-a-whore.  
Leo's silence was beginning to frighten Kyle, and he let his face go free to fall should it want to. But his eyes remained fastened to Kyle's, and all at once his orange sweater seemed to want to choke him, and his own jeans seemed so tight despite how baggy he kept them. He felt conflicted, claustrophobic under the blond boys gaze. He wanted so badly to keep meeting it, but so uncomfortable he almost looked away in shame. It was Leo who finally broke the gaze, and he whispered something so quietly that Kyle wasn't even sure he'd actually said anything.

"Why?" He asked, and that one word seemed to say it all, every thing that Leo couldn't think to say was willed into the question, and Kyle picked up on every piece of it. "Why do you want to be my anchor?" He was asking. "Why do you want to keep me sane, why do you want to help me, why do you feel the need to accept me, why don't you say something when I get picked on at school, why today, why here, why like this?" And underneath it all was the one question that really mattered; "why me?" And despite all his own suave tactics, and his own keen intellect, Kyle couldn't come up with a real reason, not a single thing to say in response.

"Why not?" He asked in return, and Leo smiled sadly.

"Why not indeed." He replied, and in that single little snippy response Kyle knew he'd gotten through. He hugged the blue-eyed girly-boy in his arms as tight as he felt he could without hurting him, and Leo hugged back tight enough to force the breath from his body; and that was fine, if unexpected.

"Eat lunch with me tomorrow." Kyle said, and Leo nodded, his eyes shut tight, his breath held in to keep himself from sobbing gratefully, Kyle caught in a Stotch Death grip that would rival a hydraulic vice. And the Jewish Angel hugged him back until he was ready to let go on his own, and to look into the sincere emerald eyes with his own over-joyed ice-colored ones.

"Ho-how… How long..?" He asked, and Kyle tilted his head in confusion. "How long have you waited to tell me you accept me?"

"Since Cartman started picking on you." He replied. "But I was scared. I was scared of your reaction, and I was scared of Cartman's, and I was scared of my own."

"Its hard to imagine you scared." Leo replied, starting to shiver. "I always saw you as this fearless boy. You and Stan both. I've seen Eric scared, and sure as heck know I've seen Kenny scared, but you two just always seemed so… Self-assured."

"We're not, you know." He said. "We're just stubborn and cocky. We're a couple assholes who try not to think about what we know needs to be done, and just be done with it."

Leo laughed, and shrugged. "Sometimes I wish I could do that."

"But you don't need to." Kyle told him, and grabbed his open sweater. "You've got the balls to do this! To dress how you want, and to not wish for acceptance, or ask for our pity. You can do something we all wish we could do, and that's starting to scare some of the boys who are so scared to just be who they are. I envy you. I need to be more like you."

"I'm a whiney little pussy." Leo said, nonchalantly. "I'm a meek-ass, timid little bitch-boy who lets Eric practically ass-rape me, he picks on me so hard, and sometimes I think I might actually like it!" He stood up, breaking from Kyle's warm arms, and turning away. "I'm nothing but the masochist Eric's wanted all his cruel, sadistic life, and you want to be like me?"

"Leopold," Kyle said, "you've been changing so much lately, you're hardly the bitch you used to be."

"But you _did_ think I was just a little bitch for Eric to play around with!"

"_Were_, but you aren't any more!" Kyle yelled. "You've matured into someone so unaffected outwardly by ridicule that I hardly recognized you when you walked into class in that getup."

Leo flinched again, this time because the only change he'd noticed in himself was his choice in attire. He felt himself blushing under the light amount of make-up covering his face, concealing it enough that Kyle didn't notice as he walked over to put a hand on Leo's shoulder.

"You'll stick by me?" He asked. "During school hours? You'll just up and say fuck a social life to be my friend? Now, when so many people seem to like you?"

"Fuck them."

"Fuck you." Leo said, and turned to face him, planting a kiss right on his cracked, chapped lips. Then he faced away from him and walked off. Kyle stood there, looking to the reflective snow and saying nothing.

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The next day at school Eric tried to trip him, and he hopped effortlessly over the foot he had been expecting from the moment he'd woken up. The brunette cursed, and followed him, everyone just staring. Leo ignored him, not even acknowledging his nickname being called. The others looked on unsure of what was happening, sensing anarchy towards the hierarchy of high school social life. Here was the outcast completely ignoring his tormentor, saying fuck you wordlessly to the boy who had always walked all over him.

"Butters, god damnit, I'm talking to you!" Eric said, practically whining, but Leo just kept walking, entering class and sitting in his seat with no more than a slight huff as he ignored the fat boy. Flustered, Eric slammed his hands down onto the desk, and looked into Leo's unresponsive eyes. "Hey, fag." He said, and the small crowd of their classmates looked on, knowing that Leo was going to get it this time, and Eric wouldn't be gentle. "I was talking to you."

"Oh?" Leo replied, ice in his voice. Eric flinched. "I'm sorry, that's what that noise was in the hallway?"

"I don't know what you're pulling, Butters." Eric said. "But you're mine, and I'm going to fuck you up for this."

"I'm not sure you quite get the message here, asshole." Butters said, flipping his hair behind his ear with one hand. "Leave me alone, Eric. I'm done. No more of this, this fucked up sadistic thing you seem to think is a relationship. You're fucked up, and I'm not dealing with it anymore."

"I'm fucked up?" Eric asked. "_I'm_ fucked up? You're the one who started to come to school dressed as Marjorine seven years after the bull crap with the future telling device."'

"But at least I don't pop a damned boner over tripping up the blond kid who doesn't fit in," Leo said, his voice strong, "or simply from making him feel scared and insecure."

Craig and Clyde were talking in the background, quietly, trying to decide just how bad things were going to turn out for him if he kept on this route, Craig saying Eric was going to kill him, and Clyde thinking maybe, just maybe, he had a chance. Then Kyle came into the class, and saw what was happening.

"Leave off, fatass." Kyle said, walking over. "Just fucking walk away, and maybe you won't have hell to pay later on."

"Fuck you, ya fuckin' Jewfag." Eric said. "Stay out of this."

"No, you fat fuck." Kyle responded, standing his ground firmly, and Leo smiled. "I won't. You're getting out of hand, and this has to stop. Leave him _alone_!"

"Kyle, its alright." He said.

"No, its not." He retorted. "Its not alright for this fat fuck to do what he does to you."

"Kyle, I can handle him. I know how he works." Leo told him. "I know he isn't going to hurt me, because I, and I alone, know certain things about him that he fears people finding out. I'm the only person in the whole school who could successfully blackmail him and have him in perfect fear."

Eric froze; his eyes locking onto the taller, skinnier boy who he'd forgotten knew almost everything he'd never tell anyone he didn't feel he had power over. And here it was, backfiring on him like some sort of horrible bottle-rocket misfire, and for once he felt scared of Leo.

"Like, for instance," Leo kept on, knowing the stranglehold he'd just put Eric in would choke him up and work in the blonds favor, "an unfortunate happening with his cousin years ago. Or his deepest emo-moments, his full insecurities, and almost everyone he's ever had a hard-on for."

The tables were fully turned now, and Eric retaliated by punching him in the face and storming out of the room, silently admitting defeat in a way no one else could replicate, cursing his name and everything he stood for. Clyde began slowly to clap for the femboy, and soon the whole room was applauding uproariously at Leo's sudden showing of courage and guts, to stand up to the biggest bully any of them had ever known, and send him prissily grumbling from the room in silent fear and open rage.

Craig clapped him on the back, and suddenly it seemed the whole school was on his side, and rooting for him, and he was still just faggy little Butters, who wore lip gloss and blush, and carried a Hello Kitty purse, but never fit with the boys, and was rejected absolutely by the girls. He had only put an end to his most hated social situation, his fucked up relationship with Eric, and now he was everyone's favorite whiney little pussy, being hand-shook left, right, and center, and even hugged in a few instances. Sloppy praises, and laughter met his ears as he realized he'd just done something no one but Kyle, Stan, and Kenny had ever had the balls to do openly and unabashedly; he'd just been raised to the same near-god-like status everyone secretly held them in, and Eric wouldn't be able to pick on him anymore without feeling the wrath of all these people who now knew that anyone could stand up to Eric Cartman the Sadistic, Fat, Son-of-a-Whore.

Every moment of his life had been leading up to this triumph, every jab, every nasty word, every dirty look had been propelling him to this moment in time during which he seemed to be trapped in his own mind. He had no control, he was saying nothing, he was in utter shock at everyone's reactions, at being suddenly everyone's friend. Finally he came back to himself.

"Shut up." He said, and a few people looked at him funny, but the general throng of laughing, joviality seemed to continue. "Will you all just shut up?" He yelled, and they stopped, slowly turning to look at him.

Kyle nodded his own silent approval at Leo's feelings. He knew what it was like for him, not fully, but remembering from the metro sexual phase in their childhood just how awful it could be to be rejected the way he always had been.

"You think that just because I did that, you're all my friends now?" He asked, and got a few nods. "No. You're not. You all treated me like dirt because you were afraid of Eric, and the nut-hold he had you all in. Fuck you. You're not friends, you're cowards, and its just taken me too long to realize it. The only one of you who's ever took initiative in accepting me in any way was Kyle, and even he was too late for me to forgive."

The two locked eyes, and Kyle saw the truth in them that seemed to sting him so deeply he couldn't even being to fathom why.

"I don't agree with the way I've been treated up until now." Leo continued. "Left aside like some pet, not to be fully accepted as a person, but great for when you were bored, or had no one better to hang with and no one was around to see. I'm fucking sick of you people, and your social hierarchy, and your rules of social acceptance. I'm sick and tired of you thinking friendship is something that can be ignored, or faked, or just spring up from no where now that I'm not taking shit from Eric anymore, and you all know it, and what I can do to him.

"You make me so freaking ill with all your falsities and lies and bullshit. Just fuck off and leave me to be who I am and make or break my own bridges in life. Just fuck off and die, so I can find people who honestly accept me regardless of everything. I'm not going to conform to your standards, and be who you all seem to think I'm supposed to be now that I've stood up to the bastard who's done all but _rape_ me while you stood around pretending to think it was funny so he wouldn't call you a fag, or push you into the mud. And why? Because better me than you. Better socially awkward little Butters take the fall so that you don't have to feel insecure. But what about my feelings? What about the person inside of me that you all seem to overlook so that you can go on feeling secure about yourselves, and Eric will leave you alone?

"I have every right in the damned universe to be as pissed off at all of you as I am. None of you can reach me, you've forced the wall up too high, and it's far too late for me to allow you entrance, even if I wanted to. Which I don't."

Kyle stared into his enraged gaze, not breaking, standing firm under the weight of a gaze that did, in fact, have every right to show such malicious hatred for all those around him. He wouldn't back down, and Leo allowed this to go unchallenged.

"Don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't even call me that ridiculous nickname anymore." He said. "Do any of you even know my real name anymore?" He asked as an afterthought, and was met with dropped gazes, and mumbles of no.

"Its Leopold Stotch." Kyle said, loud and clear, for everyone to know. "Leo."

The name was repeated by a few of the usual suspects, and then by those who weren't so usual, and finally by those he'd never met, until it was like a chant of "Leopold Stotch" flowing out into the hall to all those who'd seen, and the story and the chant would flow through the grape vine faster than Leo would ever be able to keep track of, soon turning him legendary, until weeks after the entire event, he would have to force himself blind to all the stares from people he'd never even spoken to in his life, all the kids in South Park, looking to him as though he were this unapproachable, god-like creature, just like Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth. And he laughed silently.


	2. Chapter 2

Of course, Kyle would try to talk to him in the halls, to apologize, every so often, to gain his trust, and gain his favor. Leo was so unsure of himself at this point, despite the kiss he'd given the Jewish boy, despite the fact he'd still tried to be his friend, that he was so close to letting the walls fall down, and just giving in to the demands of the auburn-haired princeling. He wanted so badly for everything to be normal, but now he didn't know what normal was anymore. And despite what he noticed with Kyle, he also noticed some of the other blond boys in school giving him this look he just could not figure out at all. It was all so confusing.  
Then the Goths showed up. The Goths, who had never cared about anyone but their own one way or the other, telling him now that if he'd just wear all the same stuff in black he could, in fact, hang out with them. And he had laughed and laughed at them for minutes. Them just staring at him, flipping their hair, and smoking.  
"Why would I want to be a faggy Goth kid?" He asked. "I'm already faggy enough as it is. Besides, I like my colors."  
And in those droning voices of theirs they had told him that he must be the most non-conformist of all. One muttered about how they got Goth-served. They all walked away in a silent awe, though never once showing it outwardly.  
Then Leo got it, why he'd been so hesitant about Kyle. In fourth grade or so Stan had joined in with the Goth kids, becoming an emo-brat, and acting out awkwardly. That had been over Wendy. And who had been the first person he'd all but attached himself to after he'd snapped out of it? Kyle. The two seemed almost inseparable, always ending up back together no matter the situation. How many times had they almost died together? How many times had they saved each other?  
They loved each other, but neither of them had the courage to admit it to the other in fear of ruining the relationship completely. And how could he take Kyle from Stan like that, with little more than a thought or a batted lash in the raven-haired boys direction? Kyle was confused, and attempting to latch himself into a relationship with someone else for the wrong reasons. So he wouldn't do something stupid and ruin the amazing thing he had with Stan. And Leo would not, could not be the one to keep them from each other; he didn't want to be responsible for Stan losing his chance at the one good thing relationship-wise in his life, nor for Kyle never truly being happy. He had to push things between them in order to fix the way Kyle would approach him. But he never had the chance, and so he was forced to allow the situation to continue on as it had. And he always noticed they way they looked at each other, silently screaming at them to just notice what he could so plainly see, and be done with it all.

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By the time a month had gone by Leo had gotten very used to Kyle trying to talk to him. When one morning the Jewish boy didn't appear, he felt worried. Later that morning Stan had come to talk to him. Stan, who would never talked to him anymore. Stan, who it seemed, was never around when Leo was picked on.  
"Stotch." He said, and he sounded concerned, but not for him. "You're killing Kyle."  
"How?" He asked, running fingers through his spray-frosted hair lightly.  
"You won't talk to him." Stan replied. "You won't accept him the way he finally accepted you. You ignore him; you won't even look at him most of the time. He told me you just up and kissed him the day before you flipped on Cartman. You confused him by making him think you had some kind of feelings for him, and now he's almost positive you hate him. Its tearing him up."  
Leo watched Stan, feeling the sincerity flow forth freely, and sighed. Why did the Jew go and take that kiss personally? But then he hadn't explained himself, how else was he supposed to take it? He rolled his head in a half circle, cracking his neck, and his icy eyes met with Stan's own baby blues, and he smiled. Stan was confused; he shook his head, and sighed.  
"He's so screwed up right now." He continued. "He's my best friend, I don't want to see him like this. Why don't you just talk to him, damnit? Say something!" He was flustered.  
"Why is he so screwed up over this all?" Leo asked, finally. "I was very clear when I said he'd accepted me too late. I can't forgive and forget so easily, or even at all by this point."  
"Just let him say his piece." Stan told him. "Let the man talk."  
"Alright. Tell him to sit with me at lunch. But I promise nothing."  
"Thank you." Stan said.  
"You really love him, don't you?" The blond asked, quietly, and Stan nodded solemnly.  
"I do." He replied. "But I don't hate you for being the object of his interest. So again, thank you."  
"Whatever."

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Lunch rolled around and Leo sat quietly by himself as he always had and always wanted to. It had been ten minutes so far, and no sign of Kyle. There was a strong chance he'd lost courage, and decided to just disappear. But then someone sat beside him, and he heard the Jew's quiet, somber voice so near to his ear.  
"Thank you." Kyle said.  
"Speak your piece." Leo replied, fixing his sky blue cardigan's white faux-fur collar, and smoothing his shorts and stockings down.  
"Why did you kiss me?" He asked, and turned Leo's head to look into his eyes, to scan for the silent answer he may never articulate.  
"Why did you take it so personally?" Leo asked in response, kicking the ground with his blue and white converse high tops. "I kissed you because it was the only thing I felt would shut you up at that point. I knew you wanted it, and I knew I would never have another chance to just kiss someone and surprise him or her like that. Call it a happy accident."  
"Leo, you've changed so much with out changing much at all." Kyle said. He knew what that meant, it meant that his loneliness hadn't altered a bit, but he'd grown balls anyways.  
"People grow up, Kyle." He said, almost as if to apologize. "We get older, and we become different people. Some of us become something we never thought we'd be. I became a non-conformist faggot, and you became a social butterfly in the closet, with girls falling at your feet, and a best friend who'd risk almost anything for you. You're lucky to have him."  
"I know." He replied, and the smile he gave Leo was so open, so unashamed, and so sad that he hugged him on the spot.  
"Kyle, we're fucked up, you and I." He said, and laughed.  
"We all are." Kyle responded. "We're teenagers." And he laughed too. They just sat there, holding each other and laughing like little kids who've just come out of the Haunted House ride for the first time, scared for their lives, but so glad to have come out of it unscathed and together. And Stan just watched and smiled approvingly from across the room.  
"Do you forgive me?" Kyle asked, finally. "For taking so long to reach out?"  
"I didn't at first." Leo replied. "I was just so angry, so hurt by everything, and then so confused with the whole reaction to my final stand, that I didn't think I could ever forgive anyone for anything they'd done to me."  
Kyle looked down, and away, but Leo tilted his chin up as Kyle had done to him so many weeks ago, a smiling gracing his pretty pink lips. He shook his head.  
"I said at first, you silly Jew." He said, his voice so soft, so full of gentle care. "You never gave up trying to apologize, to get to know me, to be my friend. And today, Stan asked me to talk to you. You have no idea how lucky you are to have a guy like him for a friend. He cares and loves and wants nothing in return. But you want me, and it's tearing you up."  
"I…"  
"Hush." Leo commanded, holding a finger up to his lips. "I'm not for you. I never was. But him… He loves you, Kyle. So much. Go to him, ask him, don't let him skirt the subject. He's your happy little soccer princess, he just needs you to step up and make the first move."  
"Leo…" Kyle said, and smiled into his eyes. "Kiss me one more time. I have to know for sure."  
"Here?"  
"Here."  
Leo leaned in and kissed those chapped lips once again, smelling the light and airy, almost incense-y smells of Kyle. They pulled apart, and Kyle's teary eyes smiled into Leo's.  
"Thank you." He said again, and just as he'd come, he left again. He walked across the lunchroom, and sat next to Stan and Kenny. And Leo gave him one last smile before he turned away from that scene. How had he come so far, done so much? How had he just jumpstarted a relationship everyone had seen coming from miles away, given up such a handsome man in exchange for that single, tearful smile that shattered his heart in all the right places, and turned him to mush?  
"You're welcome." He whispered, and stared at the ceiling. Then the bell rang, and he drifted listlessly to class.

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Before too much time elapsed, Tweek approached him, and he looked at the caffeine addict awkwardly, never having even thought to speak to him before. He twitched and bounced and stuttered horribly, but Leo just kept a patient smile, and a soft tone in his high, airy voice.  
"What did you have to say, Tweek?" He asked, the edge of a kind laugh in his voice.  
"Argh. I-I…" The other blond couldn't seem to come past his own coffee high, and Leo reached out slowly to put a hand on his shoulder and steady him. Tweek yelled again, but then apologized profusely and stuttered more.  
"Calm down." Leo cooed. "Take a deep, slow breath and try to calm down a little. I won't hurt you, or be cruel to you. Just speak your piece." He'd grown accustomed to saying that phrase, as everyone seemed to have a piece to speak, suddenly.  
"I… Wanted. To. Ask. You. A. A-a… Argh!" His eye shut and his body jumped under Leo's soft touch. "K-kw-kw… Question."  
"And what would that be, sweetie?" Again, his voice was soft, gentle, kind, so as not to frighten him.  
"Y-you… You… Y-y-you let Kyle go?" He asked. "You… Argh… You had the chan-ch-chance… To have him… And sent him to Stan?"  
"Yes."  
"Wh-… Aah! Why?" Tweek started to stop shivering and jittering so much, and closed his eyes. "Why d-did you give up someone so wonderful?"  
"He's not for me." Leo replied. "I know that. He's not mine to take."  
"I'd… Argh… Take him anyways…" Tweek whispered.  
"I'm sure most would." He replied, and gave the twitching boy a light hug. "But I know better. He's not mine, and I won't take him away from the person who loves him so much it must hurt…"  
"You re-rea… Really are a god."  
"Is that what people think?" He asked, and laughed the most kind, gentle laugh Tweek had ever heard. "Let them, then. It makes no difference to me." He smiled, and gave Tweek another hug. "But I'm not. I'm just the boy who used to be Butters."  
"Leopold Stotch." Tweek whispered, reverently. His eyes closed, and he started to jitter more. The he broke loose and walked away, so quiet and thoughtful it seemed impossible. And Leo whispered a single word.  
"Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

His parents had noticed the difference, but had kept to themselves how they felt about it. But finally Mrs. Stotch could hold her peace no longer, and took her son aside.  
"Butters," she said, looking him in the eyes, "I love you, honey. But why have you become someone new?"  
"Mom… My name is Leopold." He told her. "I've grown up, too old for silly nicknames now. I love you too, but you have to accept who I am now. I'm not the awkward boy I used to be."  
"Leopold, darling…" She said, tears welling up in her eyes. "My sweet darling baby boy." And she hugged him tight. He hugged her back so fondly it broke her heart. "My little baby has become his own person… Don't forget me, when you're out on your own, and you have the world to love you as I have."  
"I never could, mom. You and dad are my anchor."  
"Anchor?" She had no idea he'd gotten the word for Kyle nearly two months before, and he wouldn't explain that Kyle's sudden burst of care had propelled him into something he might otherwise have left to fester. He was so grateful to the auburn-haired angel that he'd pushed him into his own happiness, and been done with it.  
"I love you, mom." He hugged her tight again, and kissed her cheek, and she cried on his shoulder, mourning the death of the small, awkward boy who'd always needed her guidance, and cherishing the strong-willed and love-filled man who seemed to have replaced him so suddenly and without warning.  
"I love you, too."  
"Is it really so bad, my having grown up?" He asked her, thoughtfully.  
"No." She replied, in the same tone. "Its really not, now that its happened. I'd always feared losing you to adulthood, but now that you've matured… I'm relieved."  
"Good." He said, and the doorbell rang. "Its alright, mom. I'll get it."  
He made his way over to the door that connected straight to his living room, and opened it. A blond boy in a blue and black British flag jogging suit with rips in the knees stood on his doorstep, smoking a one hundred millimeter bitch-stick, his hoodie so wide and baggy at the wrists his hands were literally hidden but for the barest show of knuckles. He knew this boy, not personally, but he knew of him.  
Another one of South Parks infamous fucked up blonds, like both Tweek and Leo, himself; Pip had started out apparently an orphan going to school with them, his painfully English accent immediately gaining him the paradoxical nickname of "French-y Frog." This blue-eyed demon had put an end to that teasing when he showed his power at dodge ball. The hatred of the nickname made him the most powerful and valuable player, and they were quick to tell the Japanese kids to call him the names he hated so much in English. No one spoke to him anymore, and he didn't speak to anyone if he didn't have to, he'd become a loner, letting his hair grow raggedly long, and his clothing switch from what had basically been his uniform from "back home," to shirts and sweaters depicting his home flag, and ripped jeans or tattered, two-tone sweat pants. He had on a pair of read skate shoes, though he was normally seen at school in what appeared to be ankle-height biker's boots. There was a mark on his face, and he was smirking.  
"'Ello." He said, lifting his right hand, and extending his pinky a bit because he was still holding the cigarette. His British accent hadn't gotten any weaker after all these years, and had actually deepened significantly – some of which could be attributed to the smoking. "Leo."  
"Pip." He replied, sounding only just mildly astounded. "What can I do for you?"  
Pip's smirk turned to a full smile, and he reached out his left hand to grab Leo's own. Leo pulled back, smiling himself, and shook his head.  
"What?" Pip asked. "Come out with me. I want to talk to you alone."  
"Let me grab my coat and stuff, dear." Leo replied, turning to tell his mom what was going on.  
A few moments later the two boys were walking down the road together, silently, and enjoying the company of another in their own predicament. Leo had his left arm grasped in his right hand in front of him, and Pip's hands were shoved into his pockets. Blond hair fluttered stiffly in frozen wind, and Leo's Batz Maru earmuffs were something he was soon glad to have grabbed. Finally, when Pip was sure no one was around to hear what he had to say he began to speak.  
"I normally don't pay mind to gossip." He said, his speech so proper despite all the slang he'd grown up around. "But over the last little while, people just keep mentioning what you did to Eric Cartman. He hasn't been the same, you know? He's become so depressed and… Well… Subdued, that no one is sure he'll ever be anything but mopey again. I got them to leave off me once in the past. I didn't think anyone else was capable. Least of all another one of us Blonds."  
"In all the time I've know them, it was always Eric who treated me bad." Leo told him, his tone soft and thoughtful. "I mean, the others, they didn't stop him, but for the most part, they didn't hurt my feelings like he did. I got so used to it that he began to get worse and worse, and by the time I realized how messed up everything was… I was basically his bitch."  
Pip looked over to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. Leo had no idea where they were going; he was just following the other boy through the streets. He wasn't even paying attention to their path, really, beyond making sure he didn't walk into something. The taller boys hand on his shoulder was a comfort he'd never felt since Kyle had held him in his arms, and he was glad for the contact, even if it was from another Blond.  
"Why do the blonds in this town always end up so fucked up?" Leo asked, suddenly. "Why does it have to be us?"  
"No one knows. It's like a curse, I suppose." Was the reply he got, in that beautiful accent the other boy possessed. "We're screwed from the minute we begin to live here."  
"It's unfair."  
"I know."  
Leo looked around for the first time. He saw the train tracks, and the familiar form of Kenny standing near them, seeming to wait for them. Then the boy in the orange parka with the brown faux-fur began to move towards them, lowering his hood, and smiling.  
"Thanks, Pip." He said, when he was in within their hearing range. "Tweek says hi. He can't be here to discuss this, sadly."  
"Discuss what?"  
"The alliance of South Parks infamous fucked up blond boys."  
"Alliance?"  
"We really should have done this sooner." Pip said, taking Leo's hand. "But we were all too scared our combined bad luck would be some sort of negative, destructive force, if we all got together."  
"We weren't even sure we were going to bring you until recently. What with how strong you've become." Kenny added. "We're going to get out. We're going to escape, before we can't anymore. Before we're so deep into this thing that it's eaten us whole."  
Leo stood still, Pip's hand on his own, and Kenny's ocean eyes locked into his. "Get out?"  
"We're leaving South Park." Pip said. "We want to be done with this curse. We want to wash ourselves clean of it."  
"How?"  
"When Tweek can get up the balls to admit he wants out as bad as we do, we're going to combine all our money, and just go somewhere where we can live in peace." Kenny told him. "Say goodbye to the bad vibes of South Park, of my fucked up family, of Pip's fucked up reputation, of Tweek's caffeine-pushing parents… And of your awkward school situation." He paused, and took the shivering lady boys other hand. "If you'll agree to come, of course."  
"Oh, guys…" Leo said, and looked down. Pip lifted his face and kissed him firmly.  
Again, in that beautiful accent, he spoke. "We need you. It's got to be the four of us, or bust."  
"Why?"  
"Because." Kenny said. "We've all got in common that we're fucked up blonds, and we all know what needs to be done to remove that reputation. We all need a fresh start, and… There's potential for us not only to find stable relationships out there, but that we might find them within the group."  
"You like Tweek?" Leo asked the poorer boy before him. "You like Tweek, and Pip likes me, and this is all some fucked up form of fate, isn't it?" He sighed heavily. "Like we've all been working towards this decision since the moment we saw each other in school, without even realizing it, or understanding it… Haven't we?"  
"We don't know." Pip replied, calmly.  
"We just know it's now or never." Kenny added. "Are you in? Can we do this?"  
"Aww, guys…" Leo sighed, and smiled. "I couldn't say no to a blond, now could I?"  
Pip laughed triumphantly, and Kenny hugged them both tight. Leo now understood why these two acted as they did. Why Pip stayed to himself, and why Kenny had been slowly distancing himself from the others, so slow that it was almost impossible to pick up. Even Tweek had been getting better, laying off the coffee, and not jittering as much as he had so many years ago. They were all preparing for this, this final moment of triumph, this absolute escape from their blond-and-blue curse. Even he had been slowly working his way towards being ready for this, without realizing it. This was fate spinning its wicked web and conspiring to bring them all together like this. But Tweek couldn't be there tonight, so it seemed maybe fate wasn't completely on their side just yet.  
"We have to do this right, though." Leo said, and blinked. "We have to make sure we get out and away, far enough away to break this curse."  
"We're considering taking off down to sunny California." Pip said. "The State seems to smile on the blond-and-blue like us."  
So far away, so very far away from his family, and yet it sounded so promising, so right. Leo felt his stomach tighten, and his legs turn to rubber. Pip steadied him, and gave him a reassuring smile, but Leo couldn't shake the feeling that his whole life had been meant for this. And it frightened him.  
"Give me time." He said, finally. "Give me time to set up my goodbyes, and to reassure my mom that I'll be alright. Give me time to tap my bank account, and to really plan things."  
"We all need time." Pip agreed. "But we can meet at school, and after, to plot and to shift ideas around."  
"Of course…" Leo agreed. "Of course we can."


	4. Chapter 4

A few days went by before Tweek could work up the courage to speak to Leo again. When he finally did by Leo's locker they both felt a lot calmer around each other. Tweek hardly jittered, and Leo was no longer apathetic towards him. They even shook hands, and Leo gave the boy a quick hug again.  
"Y-you… Think we really should leave South Park?" Tweek asked him, and Leo nodded.  
"I think it's worth a shot, Tweek."  
"Then I guess I have no choice." He replied. "I guess th-this really is how things… Things are supposed to be, and I just g-gotta go… Go with it. No… N-no… More… Fear…" He stood silently for a moment, and then twitched. "Argh!"  
"You do have a choice, though." Leo told him, honestly. "You can say no, you can stay here. You just have to want to."  
"As much as I try to tell myself I should," Tweek said, an almost calm, sad look in his eyes for the moment, "I really, really don't want to stay here. Everyone is out to get me in one way or another."  
"You mean how you get picked on, huh?" He asked, and looked down. He was a right hypocrite, wasn't he? Never once having stepped in when Tweek got teased or hurt by the others. Some person he was, wasn't he? All high, and mighty, and just as bad as those he seemed to condemn? There was a word for that wasn't there? Self-righteous.  
"Ye-Yeah." He twitched again. Why hadn't Leo ever noticed before how easy to get along with Tweek Tweak was? He had just allowed the twitching and screaming to blind him to the person inside, and never given the other boy a chance whatsoever.  
"I'm sorry." Leo said, meaning both for what he'd done in doing nothing, and for what had happened to Tweek in general, knowing full well what it felt like when no one was on your side.  
"Not y-our f-fault." Tweek managed to choke out. School was done, but they were still in the building. Leo knew Tweek's parents would get worried about him if he didn't leave the building soon, so he took the other boys hand and lead him along the corridor as soon as he was done in his locker. "Un… Understandable." He said, before he twitched again.  
"No…" Leo said, putting and arm around the smaller boys waist. He figured it was all the caffeine that made the boy so small and thin, his growth stunted by the large amounts of coffee. "I was preaching a lot about no one stepping in to help me, when I'd gone and done the very same thing to you." They reached the front door, and before they went out Leo gave Tweek a kiss on the cheek. This caused him to yell out, and say "oh Jesus," which Leo just giggled at. "And I really want to apologize for not doing anything when I know pretty much what you must have been going through."  
Tweek thought, quietly twitching, as they left the building, and his parents waved to them. He twitched and called out to Jesus again, before waving back. He was getting nervous again, though not as bad as he normally was.  
"Leo, I-I-I d-don't mi-mind." He said. "Just s-so l-lo-long as we… We're fr-friends no-now."  
"Of course we are… If you want to be."  
"I do." Tweek replied, standing with him on the steps a little longer.  
"Kenny loves you, I think." Leo said, in passing. "Or, at least, he really likes you a lot."  
"Argh! I… I thought it was just my imagination." Tweek replied. "He really does, you think?"  
"I can see it, like he just can't help but feel s-something." Despite his detachment from the situation, it stirred up feeling in Leo that he'd kept hidden a long time. He stuttered because he wanted to cry. He wanted to cry because of how beautiful love, or even lust could be, when observed unbiased from outside the relationship.  
"Thank… Thank y-you s-so much for s-saying s-something."  
"You g-go for him, Tweek." Leo said, compassionately. "See where l-life takes y-you, live a little… Freely."  
"I… I d-don't know…" The smaller boy twitched something fierce, but Leo smiled reassuringly.  
"What's not to know?" He asked. "You can be free and never worry about making decisions, if you just make this one big one."  
Tweek shuddered. "Y-you… You ch-choose fo-for me." He said.  
"I can't." Leo took Tweek's hand. "I don't know what is in either of your hearts, so I can't make such a choice for you. Ask Kenny to make the choice, if you can't do it yourself."  
"Aah!" Tweek closed his eyes and thought about that before he turned to go catch a ride with his parents.


	5. Chapter 5

Kenny sat with Kyle and Stan at lunch the next day, the three of them rather quiet for how they usually were with one another. Kyle was sitting decidedly close to Stan, Kenny noted, a smirk gracing his rose-petal lips. Leo had done a good thing, finally telling Kyle that Stan needed him. He watched Stan run a hand through magenta-streaked black hair, and then he spoke up.  
"I'm thinking of leaving South Park." He said.  
"What?" His friends asked in unison. He noted the worry in Kyle's tone, and the shock in Stan's.  
"With Leo, Pip, and Tweek."  
"How'd you get Tweek to agree?" Stan asked.  
"Leo did it." Kenny replied, running his own fingers through his longish blond locks. "Yesterday after school. I don't know how. He's been quiet. Tweek, I mean."  
"Huh. Interesting." Kyle looked sideways, to see Pip and Leo having lunch and talking about something rather heatedly, but apparently quietly as well. He wondered if it could be planning that they were up to. "The cursed blonds are pulling stakes and changing location, then?"  
"Yes." Kenny replied. "We just have to solidify some plans. I think it won't be any time too soon. But I wanted to tell you, because you've been my best friends through everything. I love you guys."  
"We love you, too, Kenny." Stan said, somberly.  
"Yes." Kyle agreed. "And we wish you luck."  
"But what about you guys?" Kenny asked. "Leo told me what he said to you, Kyle. What's going on?" He noticed both of them blushing.  
"Well…" Kyle said, and Stan took his hand. "We're working out how a relationship would work between us."  
"Yeah." Stan said. "We, uh, we're very close, but…"  
"We don't want to ruin things, or complicate them." Kyle finished.  
"And then there is our parents to worry about."  
"Yeah, we don't want to freak them out."  
The two of them sat quiet for a moment, and Kenny smiled. Of all the people he knew, these two had been his closest companions, and had always cared the most when he died. The least he could do now was comfort them.  
"I'm not sure you have much to worry about." He said. "It will probably come as no huge surprise, to hear that you two are together. You've always basically been a couple to most of us, it was just never formalized by you two admitting it."  
"Seriously?" Stan asked, a little shocked. "You're kidding."  
"No, I mean… If Leo could see it, then who else could?" Kenny chuckled, and shook his head. "You two… It's like this big sign that screams "soon-to-be-butt-buddies!" In big, flashy, gay neon colors."  
"Oh Lord…" Stan muttered, and shook his head as well, eyes downcast.  
"So we're fags who just haven't said anything?" Kyle asked. "Like, they just want to wait for us to come out? Or..?"  
"Pretty much everyone seems to be cool with it." Kenny said. "But I get asked, "hey Kenny, you think they'll come out today?" A lot. And I have to say, like, listen, as far as I know; they aren't together in the first place. So that's why I asked. Are you?"  
"Well…" Kyle started, but he paused too long, and Stan looked up.  
"Fuck it." He said, and smiled. "Yeah, sure, why the hell not?"  
Kyle just laughed, and looked at him. "Such enthusiasm." He said, his auburn hair falling in his eyes, and Stan nodded. "How long have you been waiting for me?"  
"Forever." Stan said. "I was ready to give you up to Leo, if that made you happy. But he sent you to me. I was so glad."  
"Then, for both our sanity, yes." Kyle said. "We're a couple."  
Kenny laughed, and gave them a playful look. "Fags." He said. "Cool. So now when people ask I can just say, "well, you know, sometimes you don't have to come out. Especially when everyone already knows, anyways."" He laughed again.  
Stan and Kyle laughed too, and Stan stuck out his tongue. "Dick." He said.  
"Only for you," Kenny replied, a little twinkle in his eye, "but then, that's a given."  
The three of them laughed, and there was an amicable silence between them for the rest of lunch.


	6. Chapter 6

Leo and Pip were having lunch, and talking. Pip had so far mentioned that he was glad Leo had spoken to Tweek about their plans, and gotten him to agree completely, and that he seemed to have been the catalyst to the single greatest coming out the school had ever seen – Stan and Kyle.  
"But," Pip said, out of nowhere. They had been enjoying an amicable silence. "What of our plans?"  
"I…" Leo blinked, and shook his head. "What do you think we should do?"  
"I think we should come up with something concrete."  
"Obviously." Leo remarked, and smiled. "But you've been working at this longer than me." He shrugged. "Surely you have some kind of plan, don't you, Pip?"  
"Ah, haha." Pip smirked. "My original plan was just to grab my stuff and hitchhike somewhere. I was going to stop when I felt I was in the right place."  
"That's…Probably the stupidest thing you could have done."  
"I know."  
"Hah, well… Gee." Leo thought for a moment, then leaned close. "I think Florida might be better than California, unless your heart it set."  
"No." He drew the word out, and leaned in as well. "Florida has hurricanes."  
"California has earthquakes."  
"Hurricanes are worse." Pip said, his hand going past his head on the left in a gesture of "that's that."  
"No, I don't think they are." Leo replied, his eyes narrowing. "I think they would be about equal, Pip."  
"So then… Lets go to Arizona."  
"What?" Leo sat back and blinked. "Why Arizona?"  
"Because when California sinks into the sea, we can all have a blast at Arizona Bay."  
"That's… Morbid."  
"Not really." Pip said, a somber note in his voice. "Its actually something Tool said."  
"You listen to Tool?" Leo asked, and his gaze grew a little intent.  
"I do."  
"I love them."  
"Of course you do." Pip laughed, and took Leo's hand. "You're intelligent enough to understand them."  
"Of course." Leo laughed. "Which album is that from, though?"  
"Oh, ah, good question." Pips eyes closed, and he thought a good moment. "Aenima, I think."  
"Ahhh…" Leo looked down for a moment. "I don't have that one."  
"You should get it."  
"Of course, I've been looking for it." He paused a good minute, his eyes closed. He opened them halfway, looking to Pip from beneath mascara'd lashes. "So, Arizona, huh?"  
"Yes. If you like." Pip felt the warmth rushing to his face as he began to blush. "It doesn't have to be."  
"Well, gee…" His eyes still heavy-lidded he pouted for a moment, thinking. "We could try for Canada. British Columbia?"  
"Ah…" Pip considered this a moment, and sighed. "That's a good option. We'll run it by the others, then. Yes?"  
"Sure, Pip. Lets."


	7. Chapter 7

A few days had passed, and Leo was sure everyone was tense. Pip had passed him a note in the hallway - and presumably the others as well - stating that they were to meet that night after school. So Leo sat through his classes in quiet contemplation, considering this and that, and if perhaps he should have dressed a little nicer than his Bijoux t-shirt, bejeweled jeans, and Hello Kitty hairclips – even if he had felt the need to put on eye-liner, blush, and light purple eye shadow that morning. The bell had rung, and he was on his way to the cafeteria when someone slammed him into a corner. His focus came back, and Eric Cartman was starting down at him, his hot breath against Leo's face.  
"You thought I'd forgotten you, faggot?" Eric asked, an edge in his voice he'd never heard before. "You thought I'd forgotten what you'd done to me?"  
"You're going to risk it?" Leo asked.  
"If I kill you, no one finds out." Eric said. "Simple as that."  
"If you kill me, the school will have an assembly to mourn my passing." Leo replied. "I've written everything down, and given it to someone. That assembly happens, they're going to read it to everyone in school, teachers an' all." He paused, and then added, for emphasis, "Simple as that."  
"Who the fuck did you tell?" Eric screamed.  
"No one." Leo replied, aloof, and matter-of-factly. "I simply gave someone a letter, and told them if anything serious happens to me, they should read it to everyone at the next assembly."  
White pain lanced through Leo's head, exquisitely intense, and everything was gone for a moment. When it swam back, Eric's fat fist was up in the air, swastika ring gleaming bloody on his ring finger, ready for another hit. It came down again, again, again, and then he stopped, and Leo was silent. Then he heard someone coming. He smirked, waiting for them to come within hearing range. Then he yelled.  
"Eric Cartman has the hot's for Clyde Donovan!" Slam, he was punched again; he could feel blood practically streaming down his left cheek. But he could also hear several people running to his aid, barely, over the ringing in his ears. His eyes closed, he felt Cartman getting wrenched away from him, someone calling into a cell phone, probably to the emergency services, and someone else asking him something, but he wasn't sure what. He opened his eyes to see Token holding Cartman against a wall, face first, and Kyle's worried face swimming just above his own, before he slumped to the floor. It all had happened so fast; he hadn't even seen it coming. He should have known Eric would try something, eventually.  
"Such a fool I was…" He whispered, feeling blood slip down his lip and into his mouth, due to the angle he was now at. Kyle had him in his lap, he was glad for the warmth beneath him.  
"Don't speak…" Kyle said. He could hear again, barely, and he looked up into the face of his Jewish angel once more, and sighed.  
"Thank you…" Leo said. "Tell Pip."  
"I will…" Kyle said, holding Leo against his chest, a tear streaking from his emerald eye, down his smooth cheek. 'You'll be ok. You don't look too roughed up. Probably just need stitches."  
"Eric wants Clyde." Leo whispered, smiling again. "Really bad."  
Kyle didn't know what to say to that, he just kept holding Leo close, and kissed his head.

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"How is he?" Stan asked Kyle, as he entered the hospital room, a cherry coke in his hand for the redhead.  
"The doctor says he's going to be alright," Kyle replied, as Stan handed him the drink, "but he needed stitches over his left eye there. I think they said he has a concussion, and there were some other things that were wrong, but they fixed whatever they were. They said it isn't going to scar much more than when Kenny got him with the throwing star, that one time. He's going to be unconscious for a while, from the morphine."  
"Ahh…" Stan remembered that incident fairly clearly, how they had made him look like a dog to avoid getting into trouble. He felt a twinge of guilt over that, and closed his eyes. "You should go home. Get some rest." He said. "I'll stay here, watch over him for you."  
"No… I can sleep here…" Kyle replied. "This is actually a comfy chair, and anyways, if I do get uncomfortable, I can just curl up next to him."  
"I'd be jealous." Stan replied, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll stay too, then."  
"Thanks." Kyle said, and emerald eyes met baby blues. "I love you."  
"You too." Stan replied, blushing, and sat down on the Jewish boys lap, finding a comfy position. "You're right, this is comfortable."  
Kyle laughed, and Stan did too. Then they just kind of sat there, Stan leaning on Kyle, and Kyle leaning back. After a while they fell asleep.

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Pip entered the room when morning came, seeing Stan and Kyle asleep in each other's arms on the chair, the cherry coke forgotten, and Leo still unconscious on the hospital bed. He sighed, and went over to his injured friend, sitting down on the bedside. Quietly he planted a kiss on Leo's cheek, under the scar of long ago, and the stitches that would surely scar to accent it. Leo stirred, and his eyes opened.  
"Hey, princess." Pip said, his voice soft and quiet, a tone he rarely had cause to take with anyone. "Kyle called me, but I was only just now able to come see you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. To protect you."  
"Pi-" Leo stopped, his voice cracking, and he cleared his throat. He was hungry, but more so he was thirsty. "Pip… I'm just glad… You're the first person… I saw... After all of this…" He tried to sit up, and his hand slipped from beneath him. He fell back down to the pillow, and Pip gently helped him to get into a sitting position.  
"I'm… So sorry." Pip said.  
"Its not your f-fault…" Leo told him, leaning forward and hugging him as tightly as he dared. "Even I… Di-didn't… See this coming. Even though I should have."  
"Its not right…" The other blond said, hugging him back, and kissing his cheek again. "He could have killed you. Where was I? Eating and laughing with Kenny."  
"Don't… Beat yourself up. I'm fine." He looked over to the chair, spotting Stan and Kyle, and smiled. "They been here all night, huh?"  
"I guess they have." Pip replied. "Kyle looks troubled in his rest, and Stan looks like he's uneasy because of Kyle."  
"I'm lucky…" Leo said, smiling softly. "That I have such great and caring friends…It was Kyle I saw when my vision returned, Kyle who held me until emergency services arrived. Or I assume so. I must have slipped unconscious. Its like he's my guardian angel."  
"Even an angel would be lucky to have someone like you to care for." Pip said, his gentle voice still thick with his accent.  
There was a stirring from the chair, and Stan yawned. He opened his eyes, and looked at Leo and Pip. He smiled, gently removing himself from the semi-tangle of limbs that made up himself and Kyle for most of the night.  
"You're awake." He said, coming over to sit on the bed. "Hello, Pip."  
"'Ello, Stan." Pip replied, nodding politely.  
"Stan…" Leo looked away from them both. "Who was on the phone? I know Token held Eric against the wall, and Kyle held me…"  
"It was Clyde." Stan told him. "As soon as he saw Cartman with his fist in the air, he whipped out his phone and called nine, one, one."  
"I'll have to… Thank him, then." Leo commented, remembering his last comment to Kyle before he lost track of things. Cartman wants Clyde. He'd told him. He'd yelled it once, or maybe it was twice. Had Clyde heard? Of course he had, how could he not have? But that was only one fraction of the things Leo knew that could possibly destroy Eric Cartman. "What I said." He paused. "About Eric having the hots for Clyde… It's true. How did Clyde react, once it sunk in?"  
"I don't know…" Stan replied. "I haven't spoken to him about it."  
"Oh." Sweet and somber silence prevailed the single word, and they all looked away from each other, the morning sunlight coming in through the window. Leo sighed, and lay back down. He wasn't in the mood for talking anymore, and he closed his eyes.


End file.
